Marion E. Berna of Burlington Funeral services for Marion E. Berna, 88, will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, at St. John Lutheran Church, 13N535 French Road, Burlington, with the Rev. Howard Gleason officiating. Burial will be in the Burlington Township Union Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, and from 10 a.m. until the time of services on Tuesday, at the church. Born March 28, 1918, in Elburn, the daughter of John and Signe (nee Sandstrom) Leidberg, she passed away Wednesday, April 12, 2006, at Sherman West Court in Elgin. Marion was very proud of her Swedish heritage and remained fluent in reading, writing and speech. She was confirmed on May 24, 1931, at the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva and was a 1935 graduate of Elburn High School. Marion married Henry J. "Hap" Berna on Nov. 20, 1937, in Burlington. While raising her family, Marion worked as a nursing assistant at Sherman Hospital. She then went back to school and received her nurses training from Mercy Hospital in Aurora, becoming an LPN in 1964. Mrs. Berna worked for several area nursing homes and retired in the early 1980's after working for an oral surgeon in DeKalb. Following retirement, Marion worked with the St. Joseph Hospital Auxiliary for 15 years. She was a member of the St. John Lutheran Church in Burlington for nearly 70 years, and was a very active and former member of the Burlington Fire Department Auxiliary. Surviving are her sons, Rodney (Susan) Berna of Burlington and Russel (Donna) Berna of Nashville, Ind.; her daughter, Cherilyn (Ed) Chipman of Littleton, Colo.; former daughter-in-law, Bonnie Berna of Wisconsin; sister, Margaret Egland of Huntley; sister-in-law, Gladys Leidberg of Woodstock; eight grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Hap, on Feb. 10, 1984; two brothers, Ed and Norman Leidberg; and her sister, Eleanor Amico. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name may be directed to the St. John Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 85, Burlington, IL 60109. Arrangements were made by Fredrick Funeral Home, Hampshire, 847-683-2711.
Published in the Chicago Suburban Daily Herald from 4/15/2006 - 4/16/2006.